Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem said yesterday that he is “sick and tired” of federal education policies

I’m Sick And Tired Of Federal Education Policies, Says Adenan

KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem said yesterday that he is “sick and tired” of federal education policies while expressing his displeasure at having to beg for more federal funding for Sarawak schools, reports Sin Chew Daily.

Adenan, who has previously overturned many bad and unpopular decisions made by the federal politicians, said Sarawak cannot blindly follow the federal education policy and the state would make a necessary shift in its education system as many schools in the state have been in poor condition for too long.

“We are trying to change some aspects of education policy in Sarawak. The state government can’t simply follow what is dictated by the Federal Government because uniformity does not necessarily mean unity.

"Sarawak will not keep quiet on issues affecting growth of education standards in Sarawak. We will no longer tolerate the lack of urgency or concern from the Federal Government to improve schools particularly in the rural areas," he said when launching the Dayak Cultural Foundation’s (DCF) Comprehensive Iban-English Dictionary at Hilton Hotel in Kuching yesterday.

However, the Chief Minister highlights the diversity found in the Sarawak public school system unlike what has happened in the Peninsular.

Elaborating, Adenan said that the government will continue to push for reform on policies affecting the state as it strives to improve education standards amidst calls for improvement on sub-standard schooling facilities across the state.

“We have pushed for more Sarawakian teachers to serve in schools here. Other education policies the state is pushing for include the building of standard quality schools.

The Chief Minister referred to recent incidences of school neglect like the school nursery and the surau of SK Kampung Buda being swept into a nearby river.

“I’m sick and tired of hearing about schools that ‘jumped’ into the river, schools with no water supply, schools without electricity and those that got burnt. If we are left behind by 10 to 20 years, I can still understand but if we are behind by half a century, I can’t tolerate that anymore. We must be assertive in our (education) policy on this matter,” he stressed.

"I’m sick and tired of appealing to the federal government to make better schools in Sarawak,” the daily reported him as saying.

-mD